Apple's 2024 Legal Battles: A Summary
Apple faced numerous lawsuits in 2024, ranging from antitrust allegations to claims of CSAM proliferation and employee monitoring. This overview highlights the key legal challenges Apple confronted throughout the year.
Major Antitrust Lawsuits
- The DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit alleging Apple maintained a smartphone monopoly through anti-competitive practices, including restricting cloud gaming apps and digital wallets. Related: Fixing macOS permission errors.
- The UK filed an antitrust lawsuit over iCloud, claiming Apple overcharged users and limited choices for cloud storage providers.
- A UK class-action lawsuit by app developers sought repayment of App Store commission fees, citing Apple's market dominance.
- The EU imposed a €1.8 billion fine on Apple for abusing its position in music streaming app distribution.
Other Legal Challenges
- The DRC filed criminal complaints against Apple for allegedly using conflict minerals in its products.
- A class-action lawsuit alleged Apple failed to prevent CSAM proliferation on iCloud.
- An employee lawsuit claimed Apple's monitoring software on personal devices violated privacy.
- A class-action lawsuit accused Apple of gender discrimination in pay and career advancement.
Apple's Legal Victories
- The Supreme Court ruling in Epic Games v. Apple only required minor changes to Apple's App Store policies.
- Apple won a patent infringement lawsuit against Masimo.
- A consumer lawsuit over third-party app restrictions was dismissed.
These legal battles highlight the increasing scrutiny of Apple's business practices and its impact on consumers and competitors. For more on Apple's legal issues, see discussions on censorship claims and top security breaches of 2024.